desk, let it rest. The bones jutted out of her
wrist, and her veins were thick blue chords that pressed against the skin. She
put the cigarette in an ashtray, ran her hand through her hair.
“I should
apologise,” she said. “I’m feeling the pinch at the minute. Got a few things
going on, and I shouldn’t take it out on you.” She looked at Alice. “I can’t
imagine how far you’ve travelled, what you’ve had to do. I shouldn’t criticise.
Your boy is fine, and I’ll make sure you see him soon as we’re done.”
Alice
nodded.
Victoria
carried on. “Guess I should tell you a little of Bleakholt. The last bastion of
Scotland, as I call it. Nobody else calls it that, mind.”
“Start with
why you kept us locked up,” I said.
She nodded.
“Simple. We’ve got to take precautions here.”
There was a
knock at the door. Victoria looked up.
“Come in.”
Another
knock.
“Come in,
god dammit, are you deaf?”
A man opened
the door and walked into the room, and I recognised him as the guy who had
driven the quad. Grease stained his jacket, and black stalker blood covered his
t-shirt like a watermark. Up close the pock-marks on his face were more
pronounced. I couldn’t tell if it was from a childhood disease or just a severe
spell of acne that had gone but had left behind a grim reminder. He had shaved
his head so sharply that thinking about him doing it made me wince. There was something
glum about him, like something was going on in his mind that he tried not to
show.
“I’ve been
to see the geek and dropped off the body,” he said.
Victoria
nodded. “Did Charlie say was it good enough?”
“He said it
was a ‘good specimen’. Guy’s a weirdo.”
Victoria
smiled. She looked up at Lou, Justin and Melissa. “I’d like you all to meet
Billy Hardy, the self-proclaimed toughest guy in Bleakholt.”
Lou
swivelled on her seat to face Billy. When she saw him, she shrank back in her
seat. Her eyes widened, and though she tried to hide it, there was a trace of
shock in her face. Billy stared back at her. His face grew pale. He looked away
and tried to dismiss the sight of her, pretended like the strange look between
them had never happened.
“Good to
meet ya,” he said. He drummed his fingers on his leg and looked at the door.
“Need anything else?” he said to Victoria.
She nodded.
“You might as well stay. I was just going to tell them about our fine town.”
Billy folded
his arms. He kept his glance anywhere but in Lou’s direction. “Here we go,” he
said. “Story time.”
Victoria
smiled. “Guess I like to brag a little too much. But it’s with good reason.”
She looked at me. “How long do you suppose we’re going to last?” she asked.
I scratched
my chin. My throat felt tight, I needed water. My back ached, my limbs felt
tired, and the cut on my knuckles stung.
“I don’t
know anything about this place,” I said.
“No, not
Bleakholt. I mean us. Our species.”
Lou crossed
her legs and leant back in her chair so far that it threatened to tip over.
“It’s been sixteen years and we’re not dead yet.”
Victoria
shook her head. “We’re not dead. But we’re dying. Here in Bleakholt, we have
more funerals than births each year. Food supplies are shrinking across the
country. Fuel is depleting. And excuse me for being blunt, but people are
getting dumber. Education has been put to the wayside in place of survival, and
knowledge is dying. There’s no progress. To summarise, we’re starving, dying
and getting stupid.”
The words
rang chords of belief inside me. I’d thought this way once. Back in Vasey, I’d
seen people scraping by, doing nothing to ensure their long-term survival.
Instead they let their lives drag from one minute to the next. I’d tried to
change that by planting crops and building defences, but it was futile. When
they were threatened with
wrist, and her veins were thick blue chords that pressed against the skin. She
put the cigarette in an ashtray, ran her hand through her hair.
“I should
apologise,” she said. “I’m feeling the pinch at the minute. Got a few things
going on, and I shouldn’t take it out on you.” She looked at Alice. “I can’t
imagine how far you’ve travelled, what you’ve had to do. I shouldn’t criticise.
Your boy is fine, and I’ll make sure you see him soon as we’re done.”
Alice
nodded.
Victoria
carried on. “Guess I should tell you a little of Bleakholt. The last bastion of
Scotland, as I call it. Nobody else calls it that, mind.”
“Start with
why you kept us locked up,” I said.
She nodded.
“Simple. We’ve got to take precautions here.”
There was a
knock at the door. Victoria looked up.
“Come in.”
Another
knock.
“Come in,
god dammit, are you deaf?”
A man opened
the door and walked into the room, and I recognised him as the guy who had
driven the quad. Grease stained his jacket, and black stalker blood covered his
t-shirt like a watermark. Up close the pock-marks on his face were more
pronounced. I couldn’t tell if it was from a childhood disease or just a severe
spell of acne that had gone but had left behind a grim reminder. He had shaved
his head so sharply that thinking about him doing it made me wince. There was something
glum about him, like something was going on in his mind that he tried not to
show.
“I’ve been
to see the geek and dropped off the body,” he said.
Victoria
nodded. “Did Charlie say was it good enough?”
“He said it
was a ‘good specimen’. Guy’s a weirdo.”
Victoria
smiled. She looked up at Lou, Justin and Melissa. “I’d like you all to meet
Billy Hardy, the self-proclaimed toughest guy in Bleakholt.”
Lou
swivelled on her seat to face Billy. When she saw him, she shrank back in her
seat. Her eyes widened, and though she tried to hide it, there was a trace of
shock in her face. Billy stared back at her. His face grew pale. He looked away
and tried to dismiss the sight of her, pretended like the strange look between
them had never happened.
“Good to
meet ya,” he said. He drummed his fingers on his leg and looked at the door.
“Need anything else?” he said to Victoria.
She nodded.
“You might as well stay. I was just going to tell them about our fine town.”
Billy folded
his arms. He kept his glance anywhere but in Lou’s direction. “Here we go,” he
said. “Story time.”
Victoria
smiled. “Guess I like to brag a little too much. But it’s with good reason.”
She looked at me. “How long do you suppose we’re going to last?” she asked.
I scratched
my chin. My throat felt tight, I needed water. My back ached, my limbs felt
tired, and the cut on my knuckles stung.
“I don’t
know anything about this place,” I said.
“No, not
Bleakholt. I mean us. Our species.”
Lou crossed
her legs and leant back in her chair so far that it threatened to tip over.
“It’s been sixteen years and we’re not dead yet.”
Victoria
shook her head. “We’re not dead. But we’re dying. Here in Bleakholt, we have
more funerals than births each year. Food supplies are shrinking across the
country. Fuel is depleting. And excuse me for being blunt, but people are
getting dumber. Education has been put to the wayside in place of survival, and
knowledge is dying. There’s no progress. To summarise, we’re starving, dying
and getting stupid.”
The words
rang chords of belief inside me. I’d thought this way once. Back in Vasey, I’d
seen people scraping by, doing nothing to ensure their long-term survival.
Instead they let their lives drag from one minute to the next. I’d tried to
change that by planting crops and building defences, but it was futile. When
they were threatened with
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